Chosun Juan
Given to Fly
GG,Tigers, Leopards, Kangaroos, aggressive snakes - I really think where you go bird watching is much more dangerous.
I don't live out in the middle of the wilderness and where I live in NJ (the burbs) is so fragmented and crawling with humans. The odds of encountering an aggressive Bear or pack of Coyotes is very low.
I do have a friend who sent me pics last year of a Mountain Lion just walking through her backyard and she gets Bears occasionally going to the bird feeders. If she leaves anything out at night that could attract Bears, they will come. She is in the real woods and wild in upstate NY. It's quite a difference from where I live in the burbs of NJ.
I think having Kanagroos come through a suburban neighborhood (like in your photo) would be fascinating , but also quite intimidating. We have White-tailed Deer living in our neighborhoods, but they pose no threat. They are very rarely Bucks. They are way more scared of humans , but there is the danger of car accidents.
I had a Doe run into the side of my while driving (came out of nowhere). It did some damage, but I was way more worried about her. She ran into small patch of woods near a park and disappeared...I felt terrible she had to suffer like that. I saw a guy run into a fawn who obviously had broken bones. The driver had a look of horror and sadness watching the fawn limp away. I called the cops to have the Deer put down. They live on tiny patches of woods. It's so fragmented where I live...just too many people.
Packs: I think seeing a single Coyote wouldn't frighten me too much, but a pack is something to be very concerned about and any pack whether it be Dingoes or Coyotes is frightening !
I have only come across Snakes a few times and both were harmless Garters and the other non-venomous as well.
I have to say I think I am more afraid of human drifters and weirdos. I go bird watching alone the majority of the time and when I am out there maybe a mile or so from my car in the middle of the woods I do worry about running into scary humans. I had a couple of weird incidents; One was a guy who came out of nowhere. I sensed someone and he was next to me and started talking. Thankfully, I was near the parking lot but not another sole around. I got a creep vibe from him right from the start. He made small talk and then asked me about my car and was talking about his and then popped the trunk and said..."hey look at the size of this trunk...it's huge". I did not move as he walked over to the back of his car. He was saying..."come on over and have a look at this trunk". I walked away and got in my car.
Another incident was a drifter who was just coming onto a trail while I was getting off of it (thank god), but he gave me a creepy look and I thought oh wow...that would suck being way out there and coming across this one.
Be careful out there !
The Leopard and Tiger weren't out here! - that was years ago on holiday in Nepal/India - The Royal Chitwan National Park was closed because of a visit by the King's brother or something .... hence no Elephant or Jeep tours available, so we organised a "tour" on foot with some "guides" we had been playing cards and drinking wacky tea with the day before. They came armed with sticks! After the 'Roar', I could see the whites of our guides eyes, and figured that things weren't real flash .... I will never forget the power of that roar - it sounded like a big block chev - such power! and the whole jungle freaked out. Longest 3 hours of my life walking out of there ..... :eek!:
It's likely we do have some sort of escaped Black Panthers here --- the footage I saw from out at Windamere Dam NSW showed a Panther jump straight up 10ft from a standing start onto a tree stump - it was in that region that I saw the tracks. Very strange that footage seems to have disappeared, but most of it is contained in this link below. @6:22 is out at Windamere Dam, near Mudgee NSW.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BelReWvzF6o
As well as the native hazards, Unfortunately we have plenty of ferals in this country too - pigs (some massive razorbacks over ~400lb), goats, deer, dogs, foxes, cats, brumbies, camels, buffalo (in the top end), rats, and mice - thanks very much England! Then there are probably Panthers, and maybe even Yowies ! :eek!: (like your Big Foot). Thankfully though I haven't encountered too many human ferals and weirdos --- be careful! I hope you have some sort of emergency device, pepper spray etc. Your instincts sound good too :t:
True to the stereotypical 'kangaroos hopping down the main street' image people from overseas do have of us, I actually did see a 5ft kangaroo hopping down the street in the middle of town (Gulgong, NSW) like he owned the joint - and the street was called 'Mayne' Street ! :-O
The snakes are dangerous though because they are highly venomous, and like your area with deer, motor vehicle collisions with roos are all too frequent. I think all of these recent roo encounters though are due to suburban sprawl - no wonder they're confused and cranky and bashing on the window! :eek!:
Take care out there o
Chosun :gh: